The main volcanoes of the world. The most powerful volcanoes in the world
30.12.2015 07:26
The strongest eruption of Mount Etna in Sicily, which happened the other day, made me think of other volcanoes, including those located in densely populated areas.
1. Mount Etna. Sicily, Italy
The eruption of the volcano, which happened on the night of December 4-5, was the strongest in the last two decades. The lava fountain reached one kilometer, and the ash stream ejected along with the lava rose three kilometers above the volcano. As a result, the nearby city of Messina was covered in ash, and the airport located near Etna was closed.
Tourists visiting Sicily have a great chance of seeing Etna erupt. In the photo: the activity of the volcano in 2012
2 Calbuco Volcano, Chile
Calbuco, located in the Llanquihue National Reserve of Chile, 900 km from the country's capital Santiago, has erupted several times this year. In April, the authorities evacuated about 4 thousand people from the vicinity of the volcano and declared the highest level of danger - "red". Flights were also canceled in the area of the eruption.
Photo: "Calbuco22-4-15" by Aeveraal - Own work. Wikipedia
Calbuco volcano eruption. The villages at the foot of Kalkubo were covered with a layer of volcanic ash.
3. Puehue Volcano, Chile
The Puyehue volcano eruption, which occurred in June 2015 after half a century of silence, had repercussions around the world. The Chilean authorities evacuated about 3.5 thousand people in the south of the country. A cloud of dust, ejected to a height of many kilometers, went to trip around the world, and as a result, flights had to be canceled not only in Chile, but also in New Zealand and Australia.
Photo: "Puyehue Cordon Caulle erupting vent, February 2012" by Captainkayla - Photo taken on fieldwork at at Puyehue Cordon Caulle in Chile. Wikipedia
Eruption of Puyehue volcano. Resort town San Carlos de Bariloche in Chile's neighbor Argentina was covered in 10 cm of ash
4. Volcano. Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland
The volcanic eruption began on March 21, 2010 and was remembered for a long time not only by the Icelanders, but also by the inhabitants of the whole world. Eyjafjallajokull woke up for the first time in 200 years, and the eruption was so powerful that the Icelandic authorities introduced a state of emergency in the country.
Traffic was blocked on nearby roads and some flights were cancelled. Another eruption occurred on the night of April 14. The authorities evacuated about 800 people, and air space over a large area of northern Europe was blocked.
5 Mount Sinabung, Indonesia
The Sinaburg volcano in Sumatra has been sleeping for 400 years, but in 2010 it decided to wake up.
So far, it has not come to a strong eruption, and the locals gradually got used to the activity of the mountain and pay little attention to it.
Vesuvius is an amazing volcano. Firstly, the leader in popularity, breaking all recognition records, secondly, a long-liver (he declared himself even before ancient times and the famous Pompeii), thirdly, perhaps one of the most prolific volcanoes in eruptions, and, thirdly, fourth, the most unpredictable. None of the scientists can even guess when Vesuvius will once again begin to "play pranks." Only strong eruptions for the entire time of his “professional activity” were recorded in the amount of 80 pieces, and even mediocre and weak ones are tired of counting. At the same time, Vesuvius is clearly not going to retire. At its top, tourists can safely bake eggs - the temperature of the soil is so high.
This is probably why the "anniversaries of pranks" of this world-famous volcano, which lives in sunny Italy near Naples, can be celebrated almost every month. What we, in fact, are doing, devoting one of the dates of the eruption of Vesuvius to our TOP 10 most famous volcanoes peace.
Place 10. The most difficult to pronounce. I don’t know how big and powerful the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull is compared to Vesuvius, but it is reliably known that in 2010 it caused a lot of trouble to air carriers. Due to the wild amount of volcanic ash and steam, some flights were canceled and airports in Glasgow, Birmingham, London, Liverpool, Belfast Dublin, Stockholm and Oslo were stopped. But also this Icelandic volcano seemed a little. He has created an incredible amount of problems for many announcers, who must have trained long and hard to pronounce his name on one breath.
Place 9. The coldest. Surprisingly, it is a fact: volcanoes are the most tenacious creatures, found almost everywhere. Here, it would seem, such a "hot thing" cannot live at minus fifty, but no! Volcanoes live quietly and on south pole, in Antarctica. The highest of the Antarctic volcanoes is Mount Sidley, "growth" of 4285 meters. By the way, it is also the most inaccessible volcano. People conquered it only in 1990.
Place 8. The most legendary. Two volcanoes are fighting for the title of the most legendary at once. One of them is Mexican Popocatepetl, who last went "to work" in 2007, and the other is European Elbrus. According to legend, Popocatepetl arose from ... strong love. The daughter of the Aztec ruler Istaxihuatl fell in love with a simple warrior Popocatepetl. However, the pope was against this unequal union and sent the young man to war, after which he spread the rumor about his imminent death. The daughter, unable to withstand the blow, committed suicide, and when Popokatepetl found out about this alive and unharmed, he decided that life without a sweetheart is not life. And he followed his beloved to another world. The gods, amazed by the power of the love of young people, decided to turn them into rocks so that they would stay next to each other forever. Well, on the top of Elbrus, myths and legends alternately settled either genies, or the famous bird Simurgh, or even left the chained Prometheus there.
Place 7. Most Religious. Etna is a volcano, like Vesuvius, prolific. The eruptions alone exceeded almost two hundred. Almost every 150 years, Etna wakes up from hunger and begins to eat nearby cities. However, people adore her not for her bloodthirstiness, but for her reverence for believers and her healing gift. Several facts of the miraculous healing of the sick who visited Etna are known, and after the stream of red-hot lava froze in reverence in front of the Catholic procession in 1928, the Sicilians completely made Etna one of the symbols of the island. Also, this volcano is famous for its blues festivals, which are arranged during his sleep.
Place 6. The fastest. Usually volcanoes are unpredictable, but sometimes scientists manage to find out in advance about the impending eruption. However, as in that parable about the boy and the wolves, some residents of nearby cities do not believe in such predictions. And very in vain. So on November 13, 1985, the Colombian volcano Nevado del Ruiz completely destroyed the city of Armero, located 50 kilometers from the “hot thing” with a height of 5400 meters. At the same time, everything about everything at the volcano took ... only 10 minutes! The death toll exceeded 20 thousand people. But scientists have warned...
Place 5. The most fabulous. Remember the tale of the "Frog Princess"? To defeat Koshchei the Immortal, Ivan Tsarevich had to get a needle that was in an egg, an egg in a duck, a duck in a hare, a hare in a chest, and a chest on a tree. It is on the principle of "thing in things" that the Russian volcano Krenitsyn is complicated. It is "registered" on the Kuril Islands and is considered the largest in terms of area, as it is located in Lake Koltsevoe (diameter about 7 kilometers), which is located in another, more ancient, crater. So you can admire its beauties only from a helicopter. By the way, the volcano got its name in honor of the Russian navigator Pyotr Kuzmich Krenitsyn.
Place 4. The most influential. Indonesia is often referred to as the land of volcanoes. It was here that the most influential of them was born - Krakatoa, which blew up the world on August 15, 1883. Its eruption caused a shock wave that circled the globe 7 times and a giant tsunami that wiped out 295 cities and towns in Java and Sumatra. As a result of his activities, more than 36 thousand people died, and hundreds of thousands were left homeless. The volcanic dust of Krakatoa surrounded the planet in a cloud, painting sunrises and sunsets in royal purple. Many scientists believe that it was this eruption that affected the ecology of the Earth.
Location 3. The most famous of the newcomers. By the way, today Vesuvius is far from the only popular volcano. It was pushed by the Russian Plosky Tolbachik, who began erupting back in November 2012. Since then, scientists from all over the world and just curious tourists flock to it in droves. The Kamchatka volcano also gave the world new copper minerals - melanotallite, ponomarevite, piipite, fedotovite, kamchatkit, klyuchevsky, alumoklyuchevskite and, of course, tolbachite.
Place 2. The highest. Well, what about in the TOP-10 without the highest?! They are rightfully a South American active volcano with a funny name for the Russians Llyulyaylyako. Its absolute height is 6739 meters, relative - almost 2.5 kilometers. It would seem that this is all. An, no! Lullaillaco is known for its eternal ice cap, border state (located on the border of Chile and Argentina), dry neighbor (Atacama Desert) and archaeological finds. In 1999, the mummified bodies of three children, allegedly sacrificed 500 years ago, were discovered on the top of the volcano.
Place 1. The most romantic. Don't go to the fortuneteller here! Without words, it is clear that Mount Fuji will be recognized as the most romantic, refined, attractive, gentle and charming. It is to her that countless haiku, drawings, paintings and photographs are dedicated. Scientists consider Fuji to be an active volcano, although weakly active (the last eruption was recorded in 1707-1708). By the way, among the countless drawings of this beauty, there is not one where the eruption itself would be captured. Fuji's neighbors include not only a Shinto shrine, a weather station, and a post office, but also the gloomy Aokigahara suicide forest, located right at the foot of the volcano. But such a neighborhood does not bother Fujiyama at all. The Japanese believe that the forest only gives a veil of mystery and mysticism to their favorite, attracting tourists from all countries. However, this does not prevent the inhabitants of the country rising sun place warning signs with the phone numbers of psychologists throughout Aokigahara. Yes, just in case.
Today, there are about 600 active volcanoes and up to 1000 extinct volcanoes on the Earth's surface. In addition, about 10,000 more hide under water. Most of them are located at the junctions of tectonic plates. About 100 volcanoes are concentrated around Indonesia, in the territory of the western American states there are about 10 of them, a cluster of volcanoes is also noted in the area of Japan, Kuril Islands and Kamchatka. But they are all nothing compared to the one megavolcano that scientists fear the most.
The most dangerous volcanoes
This or that danger is represented by any of the existing volcanoes, even sleeping. Not a single volcanologist or geomorphologist undertakes to determine which of them is the most dangerous, since it is impossible to accurately predict the time and strength of the eruption of any of them. The name "the most dangerous volcano in the world" is simultaneously claimed by the Roman Vesuvius and Etna, the Mexican Popocatepetl, the Japanese Sakurajima, the Colombian Galeras, located in the Congo Nyiragongo, in Guatemala - Santa Maria, in Hawaii - Manua Loa and others.
If the danger of a volcano is judged by the expected damage that it can cause, then it would be wise to turn to history describing the consequences of the most dangerous volcanic eruptions in the world in the past. For example, the well-known Vesuvius carried away in 79 AD. e. up to 10 thousand lives and wiped off the face of the Earth two major cities. The Krakatoa eruption in 1883, which was 200,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, echoed across the Earth and took the lives of 36,000 islanders.
The eruption in 1783 of a volcano called Laki led to the fact that a huge part of the livestock and food stocks was destroyed, due to which 20% of the population of Iceland died of starvation. The following year, because of Lucky, became a poor harvest for the whole of Europe. All this shows what large-scale consequences can turn out for people.
Destructive supervolcanoes
But did you know that all the biggest dangerous nothing compared to the so-called supervolcanoes, the eruption of each of which thousands of years ago brought truly catastrophic consequences for the entire Earth and changed the climate on the planet? The eruptions of such volcanoes could have a force of 8 points, and ash with a volume of at least 1000 m 3 was thrown to a height of at least 25 km. This led to prolonged sulfuric precipitation, the absence of sunlight for many months, and the covering of vast areas of the earth's surface with huge layers of ash.
Supervolcanoes are distinguished by the fact that at the site of the eruption they do not have a crater, but a caldera. This cirque-shaped hollow with a relatively flat bottom is formed as a result of the fact that after a series of strong explosions with the release of smoke, ash and magma, the upper part of the mountain collapses.
The most dangerous supervolcano
Scientists are aware of the existence of approximately 20 supervolcanoes. On the site of one of these awesome giants is today Lake Taupa in New Zealand, another supervolcano is hidden under the one located on the Long Valley in California, Wallis in New Mexico and Ira in Japan.
But the most dangerous volcano in the world is the Yellowstone supervolcano, located on the territory of the western American states, which is the most “ripe” for an eruption. It is he who makes volcanologists and geomorphologists in the United States, and indeed the whole world, live in a state of growing fear, forcing them to forget about all the most dangerous active volcanoes in the world.
Location and size of Yellowstone
The Yellowstone Caldera is located in the northwestern United States, in the state of Wyoming. She was first noticed by satellite in 1960. The caldera, whose dimensions are approximately 55 * 72 km, is part of the world famous Yellowstone national park. A third of the almost 900,000 hectares of parkland is located on the territory of the volcano's caldera.
To this day, a giant magma bubble with a depth of about 8,000 m rests under the Yellowstone crater. The temperature of the magma inside it approaches 1000 0 C. Due to this, a lot of hot springs rage in the Yellowstone Park, clouds of steam and gas mixtures rise from cracks in the earth's crust.
Also there are many geysers and mud pots. The reason for this was a vertical stream of solid rock heated to a temperature of 1600 0 C 660 km wide. Under the territory of the park at a depth of 8-16 km there are two branches of this stream.
Yellowstone eruptions in the past
The first eruption of Yellowstone, which occurred, according to scientists, more than 2 million years ago, was the largest catastrophe on Earth in its entire history. Then, according to the assumption of volcanologists, about 2.5 thousand km 3 of rock were thrown into the atmosphere, and the upper mark reached by these emissions was 50 km above the earth's surface.
The largest and most dangerous volcano in the world began a second eruption more than 1.2 million years ago. Then the volume of emissions was approximately 10 times less. The third eruption occurred 640 thousand years ago. It was then that the walls of the crater collapsed and the caldera that exists today was formed.
Why You Should Be Afraid of the Yellowstone Caldera Today
In light of recent changes in the territory of Yellowstone National Park, it is becoming clearer to scientists which volcano is the most dangerous in the world. What is going on there? Scientists were alerted by the following changes, which were especially intensified in the 2000s:
- In the 6 years leading up to 2013, the ground covering the caldera has risen by as much as 2 meters, while in the previous 20 years the rise was only 10 cm.
- New hot geysers bubbled up from underground.
- The frequency and strength of earthquakes in the area of the Yellowstone caldera is increasing. In 2014 alone, scientists recorded about 2,000 of them.
- In some places, underground gases make their way through the layers of the earth to the surface.
- The water temperature in the rivers has risen by several degrees.
This frightening news alarmed the public, and especially the inhabitants of the North American continent. Many scientists agree that the supervolcano will erupt in this century.
Consequences of the eruption for America
No wonder many volcanologists believe that the Yellowstone Caldera is the most dangerous volcano in the world. They assume that its next eruption will be as powerful as the previous ones. Scientists equate it to the explosion of a thousand atomic bombs. This means that within a radius of 160 km around the epicenter, everything will be completely destroyed. The territory covered with ash, stretching for 1600 km around, will turn into a "dead zone".
The eruption of Yellowstone can lead to eruptions of other volcanoes and the formation of powerful tsunamis. There will be a state of emergency for the United States and martial law will be introduced. Information comes from various sources that America is preparing for a disaster: building shelters, making more than a million plastic coffins, drawing up an evacuation plan, drawing up agreements with countries on other continents. Recently, the United States prefers to remain silent about the true state of affairs on the Yellowstone caldera.
Yellowstone Caldera and the End of the World
The eruption of the caldera, located under the Yellowstone Park, will bring trouble not only to America. The picture that can unfold in this case looks sad for the whole world. Scientists have calculated that if the release to a height of 50 km lasts only two days, then the “cloud of death” during this time will cover an area twice as large as the entire American continent.
In a week, emissions will reach India and Australia. The sun's rays will drown in thick volcanic smoke and a long one and a half year (at least) winter will come to Earth. average temperature air on Earth will drop to -25 0 C, and in some places it will reach -50 o. People will die under debris falling from the sky from red-hot lava, from cold, hunger, thirst and inability to breathe. According to assumptions, only one person in a thousand will survive.
The eruption of the Yellowstone caldera can, if not completely destroy life on earth, then radically change the conditions for the existence of all life. No one can say for sure whether this most dangerous volcano in the world will begin its eruption in our lifetime, but the existing fears are really justified.
Volcanoes are not only an exciting and dangerous sight. It is thanks to volcanic activity that life on planet Earth was born. Atmosphere and hydrosphere appeared due to emissions huge amount carbon dioxide and water vapor. To date, some fire-breathing mountains are inactive, while others cause trouble and anxiety to mankind.
Volcano Vesuvius. Italy
Considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes Europe. It was he who in August 1979 destroyed several ancient Roman cities, including Pompeii. It wakes up about every 20 years. The last time was in 1944.
Volcano Yellowstone Caldera. USA
About a third of the territory of Yellowstone National Park is occupied by an active volcano. Inside his bubble of magma is constantly heating thermal springs, which is manifested in the formation of geysers and mud pots. 
Volcano Krakatau. Indonesia
The last time it erupted was in 1883, as a result of which the island on which the volcano is located was destroyed. The process lasted from May to the end of August. The victims of the ash and tsunami were 36 thousand people and 259 settlements. Today, a 1.5 km zone around the island is closed to the public.
Volcano Mauna Loa. Hawaii
This is the second largest of the megavolcanoes, the top of which is covered with snow from January to March. Sometimes he wakes up and pours out lava flows.
Mount Kilimanjaro. Tanzania, Africa
The volcano consists of 3 extinct peaks. However, scientists have found that only at a depth of 400 m under the crater of the mountain is red-hot lava. In addition, the centuries-old ice cap that covered the peak has almost melted.
Eyjafjallajokull volcano. Iceland
Not so long ago, the volcano paralyzed the work of several European airports. The eruption was rated at 4 points on the VEI scale. Some researchers believe that the awakening of Eyyafyatlayokudl may be the trigger for the Katla eruption.
Volcano Cotopaxi. Ecuador
This is the most active volcano. After more than 150 years of silence, Cotopaxi came to life again in 2015. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
Volcano Merapi. Java island
One of the most active volcanoes erupts at least twice a year, and major eruptions occur every seven years. Local residents have to evacuate. The top of Merapi smokes non-stop.
Volcano Popocatepetl. Mexico
The most powerful eruption occurred in 2000. It was preceded by 15 years of increased activity fiery mountain. In March 2016, Popocatepetl raised a column of steam, gas and ash to a height of 2 km. At risk are the cities of Mexico City and Puebla.
